Ways To Give

There are many different ways to make a gift and make a difference to Bluefield State College.

Outright gifts of cash are the simplest to make by check, credit card.

Publicly traded securities can be transferred to the Bluefield State College Foundation through physical delivery or by wire.

Gifts in kind, physical items intended for use in educational or research programs, are an excellent way for businesses to contribute. Individuals also can donate personal property and should obtain a third-party appraisal for tax purposes.

Gifts of real estate require investigation of marketability, mortgages or liens and environmental concerns prior to acceptance. Such gifts can be of great value to Bluefield State College. They can be made as outright gifts, as a will bequest or as a living trust, where the donor retains all the rights of ownership in his or her lifetime.

Life insurance is another excellent way to provide Bluefield State College the gift of a lifetime. Donors can name the Foundation as a beneficiary, or they can transfer ownership of universal or whole life insurance policies to the Foundation to receive a significant tax benefit while the donor is living.

Similarly, a donor can name the Foundation as a beneficiary of retirement plans such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Keogh plans, and 401(k) plans. These are highly taxed assets, and giving them to a nonprofit can be beneficial to heirs receiving the remaining assets. Recent Federal legislation permits donors to roll over up to $100,000 from an IRA directly to a qualifying charity such as Bluefield State College Foundation without recognizing the assets transferred as income during their lifetimes.

The simplest and most common way to make an estate gift is through a bequest. Donors need not rewrite their wills to include Bluefield State College as a beneficiary; it can be accomplished through an addendum called a codicil.